On 1985's RIPTIDE, Robert Palmer went from being a mere successful rock musician to one of the hottest figures in the music business. With a title that could have doubled as the title of a Miami Vice episode, RIPTIDE sold by the millions. While two MTV videos facilitated the record's success, Palmer had earned it; he was in his third decade as a professional musician, and he had also written the record's smash hit "Addicted to Love."

With a drum sound that sounded as if it were recorded in God's personal recording studio, "Addicted to Love" endures as a rock classic. On this, his signature song, which revisits the love-as-illness theme he addressed "Doctor Doctor," Palmer had the satisfaction of scoring his first Number One with his own composition. The memorable video, which portrayed an immaculately coifed, Armani-clad Palmer performing in front of a wall of blase models, cemented an image of Palmer that he happily embraced. The other huge hit here, " I Didn't Mean to Turn You On," typifies the suave dance music that would become Palmer's '80s chosen style for the rest of the decade.